Nucleolar Localization of GLTSCR2/PICT-1 Is Mediated by Multiple Unique Nucleolar Localization Sequences

The human glioma tumor suppressor candidate region 2 gene product, GLTSCR2, also called ‘protein interacting with carboxyl terminus 1’ (PICT-1), has been implicated in the regulation of two major tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and p53, and reported to bind the membrane-cytoskeleton regulator of cell signaling, Merlin. PICT-1 is a nucleolar protein, conserved among eukaryotes, and its yeast homolog has been functionally associated with ribosomal RNA processing. By means of confocal microscopy of EGFP and myc-tagged PICT-1 fusion proteins, we delineate that the nucleolar localization of PICT-1 is mediated by two independent nucleolar localization sequences (NoLS). Unlike most NoLSs, these NoLSs are relatively long with flexible boundaries and contain arginine and leucine clusters. In addition, we show that PICT-1 exhibits a nucleolar distribution similar to proteins involved in ribosomal RNA processing, yet does not colocalize precisely with either UBF1 or Fibrillarin under normal or stressed conditions. Identification of the precise location of PICT-1 and the signals that mediate its nucleolar localization is an important step towards advancing our understanding of the demonstrated influence of this protein on cell fate and tumorigenesis

Vertebrate Community on an Ice-Age Caribbean Island

We report 95 vertebrate taxa (13 fishes, 11 reptiles, 63 birds, 8 mammals) from late Pleistocene bone deposits in Sawmill Sink, Abaco, The Bahamas. The \u3e5,000 fossils were recovered by scuba divers on ledges at depths of 27-35 m below sea level. Of the 95 species, 39 (41%) no longer occur on Abaco (4 reptiles, 31 birds, 4 mammals).We estimate that 17 of the 39 losses (all of them birds) are linked to changes during the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition (PHT) (∼15-9 ka) in climate (becoming more warm and moist), habitat (expansion of broadleaf forest at the expense of pinewoodland), sea level (rising from -80 m to nearly modern levels), and island area (receding from ∼17,000 km2 to 1,214 km2). The remaining 22 losses likely are related to the presence of humans on Abaco for the past 1,000 y. Thus, the late Holocene arrival of people probably depleted more populations than the dramatic physical and biological changes associated with the PHT

Tragedy and Grenzsituationen in genetic prediction

Philosophical anthropologies that emphasise the role of the emotions can be used to expand existing notions of moral agency and learning in situations of great moral complexity. In this article we tell the story of one patient facing the tough decision of whether to be tested for Huntington's disease or not. We then interpret her story from two different but compatible philosophical entry points: Aristotle's conception of Greek tragedy and Karl Jaspers' notion of Grenzsituationen (boundary situations). We continue by indicating some ways in which these two positions may be used for reflecting upon different perspectives involved in clinical decision-making, those of patients, clinicians and bioethicists. We conclude that the ideas we introduce can be used as hermeneutic tools for situating learning and dialogue within a broader cultural field in which literature and art may also play important roles

Vertebrate community on an ice-age Caribbean island

We report 95 vertebrate taxa (13 fishes, 11 reptiles, 63 birds, 8 mammals) from late Pleistocene bone deposits in Sawmill Sink, Abaco, The Bahamas. The >5,000 fossils were recovered by scuba divers on ledges at depths of 27–35 m below sea level. Of the 95 species, 39 (41%) no longer occur on Abaco (4 reptiles, 31 birds, 4 mammals). We estimate that 17 of the 39 losses (all of them birds) are linked to changes during the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition (PHT) (∼15–9 ka) in climate (becoming more warm and moist), habitat (expansion of broadleaf forest at the expense of pine woodland), sea level (rising from −80 m to nearly modern levels), and island area (receding from ∼17,000 km(2) to 1,214 km(2)). The remaining 22 losses likely are related to the presence of humans on Abaco for the past 1,000 y. Thus, the late Holocene arrival of people probably depleted more populations than the dramatic physical and biological changes associated with the PHT